Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)

American Restart [lateral view of adult male]: Photograph Credit: Rickey Shive; Pulliam Hollow, Metcalfe County, Kentucky; 7 September 2019.

Abundance: Uncommon during late spring, summer, and early fall; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to reliably determine a trend in the breeding population but suggest a stable trend in the migratory population (see also Regional Bird Monitoring Plan).

Status: Summer Resident; Visitor during winter (2 records); specimen (9 June 1938; Monticello, Wayne County, Kentucky; W. M. Perrygo; Wetmore 1940).

Regional High Count: 94 (20 May 2012; western Putnam County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman); SBC/SBB High Count: 68 (8 May 2004; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 42 (15 September 2007; Putnam County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.).

Out-of-Season (Winter) Records:

1 January 1980 (1—second-year male) Kendall Recreation Area, Wolf Creek Dam, Lake Cumberland, Russell County, Kentucky (Jackie B. Elmore, Sr.; Elmore 1980b; Stamm 1980b).

5 December 2015–9 January 2016 (1 immature) Science Hill, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo), includes a Somerset CBC record.

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Spring: x (

    Late Fall: x (

    Note: Spring arrival usually widespread by 25 April; fall departure largely complete by 30 September.  Regional dates of earliest reported spring arrival and latest reported fall departure for the years 2002–2011 follow:

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).   

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 13 (of 125 possible) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 17 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, leading to a YardWatch frequency classification of Uncommon during each year; the YardWatch frequency classification for this warbler conforms to the overall Regional abundance classification quite well.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: probably breeds in most Regional counties, but breeding density highly variable from county to county (see also Foray Results [above]).

    Probably the site with the highest known population density of redstarts in the Region is Frozen Head State Natural Area, Morgan County, Tennessee, where counts of 38–86 redstarts were accumulated along a 16-km (10-mi) walking transect conducted 1994–2008; most redstarts were counted at mid-elevation (600–800 m [2000–2600 ft]) in the part of the park that is covered by the transect.  Another site where a moderately high population density of redstarts may be found is the escarpment lying between the Central Basin and Highland Rim in western Putnam County where counts of 30–81 redstarts have been made along an 82-km (51-mi) driving transect conducted 2004–2011.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited